Chairs that have tablets typically include a seat that is supported on a base. The base may include a plurality of chair legs. The chair also typically includes an arm that has a tablet attached thereto. The tablet is sized and configured to permit a user, such as a student, to sit in and get out of the seat while also providing the user with a work surface. For instance, a laptop, books, or papers may be placed on the work surface of the tablet or the user may write on paper supported by the work surface. Examples of tablet armed chairs may be appreciated from U.S. Pat. Nos. 955,523, 1,691,053, 1,757,322, 2,675,062, 2,954,073, 3,156,498, 3,194,600, 3,197,254, 3,216,764 3,261,641, 3,371,956 3,556,588, 3,567,276, 3,847,432, 4,848,833, D280,681, 5,845,964, 6,375,257, and 7,695,061.
Some designs of tablet arm chairs permit the tablet to be moved. Designs for such chairs typically require a fastener, such as at least one screw or bolt that passes through a bracket, to be used to attach the tablet to a support for the tablet to be moveable. The fastener typically must withstand substantial force from the user when the tablet is in use and when the tablet is moved. As a result of such force, the fastener often must be designed to withstand the forces it will experience when the tablet is used. Such a design often adds substantial cost to the manufacture of the chair. This is particularly true if the chair design requires a complex joint or bracket system that is configured to permit the tablet to be raised and lowered such as the fastening mechanisms disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,845,964, 6,375,257 or 7,695,061 because such mechanisms can be expensive to buy or manufacture.
A new design is needed for chairs that have a tablet arm. Such a chair is preferably designed to permit the chair to be manufactured at a lower cost than other chair designs while also permitting the tablet arm to be moveable from a raised position, which may permit a user to more easily sit in the chair, to a lowered position so that the user can make use of the tablet arm after the user is sitting in the chair. For instance, a user may move the tablet to the lowered position to support paper for writing, support a book for reading, or support a laptop or other mobile computer device.